Comments by "John Burns" (@johnburns4017) on "Was the Panther a Medium or Heavy Panzer?" video.

  1.  @DC9622  The Tiger tanks programme was accelerated after the Germans were out-tanked by the French Char B and British Matilda 2. Mid-war the British lost it, relegating the tank concentrating on anti-tank weapons, with tank production dropping. Something David Fletcher rightly makes a big thing about. The Churchill, a rushed design, ended up being a superb all round tank, filling a gap - it could go where no other tank could go. The mas produced and lacklustre US Sherman did fill the mid-war gap until the Comet & Centurion arrived. And not forgetting the APDS ammunition which made a 6-pounder gun a Tiger killer. APDS made the humble, later, heavily armoured Churchills rub shoulders with a Tiger, as it could knock one out from any angle. It was slow but could go where no Tiger would dare go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p-izpDBZv4 Early war The British and French had the best tanks. Not forgetting the Soviet KV1, although not used until mid-war.. Mid war The Germans and Soviets had the best tanks. Tiger, Mk IV, T-34. Late war The British again took the lead, with the Soviets not far behind; with the Comet & Centurion and Soviet IS2. The Americans will say where is the Sherman. The Sherman went through many adaptations. The ultimate Sherman the E8, adapted to British suggestions, was only introduced post war. It was so far removed from the first Sherman it should have been given a new name. It even looked very different - all squared off. The only point notable about the Sherman was that it was made in vast numbers.
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  2. The Comet was 33 tons, while the Panther was 44 tons. Big difference. Not quite the same. The British got the German factory to make some new Panthers just after WW2 to see how it was made and assess the tank. Very little of the tank, if anything, was used in post war British designs, so they couldn't have been that impressed. The Comet continued to be made post war, serving in Korea, being exported to a number of countries. The Centurion, a WW2 tank (just), was made in volume after WW2 being probably, with the Soviet T-54-55s, the best post war tank for 35 years after the war. The Centurion is regarded as the first ever MBT.
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  3. The British Comet at 33 tons, with a gun that could knock out a Tiger, and did. The Panther was 44 tons. The Comet was a medium tank for sure, while the Panther was a heavy tank. The Comet was faster with other attributes (the Finnish army still has about 40 Comets in reserve store). Yet many say the tanks were pretty well equivalent.
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  4.  @DC9622  The Panther was a politically motivated tank. Hitler ordered a copy of the T-34 when it started to scythe though German lines, especially at the Battle of Moscow in Dec 1941. Benz did a proposal that was near identical in looks to the T-34 that would be made in volume and quickly. German engineering pride meant they took their time, not doing a direct copy, then developed the heavy Panther. Hitler kept insisting on more armour which negated speed. Look at the lighter Comet with the powerful RR Meteor engine. That is what the German army wanted. A light tank with good armour, reliable, fast, with a gun that can knock out any tank.
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  5.  @RussianThunderrr  The t34 was impervious to German anti tank guns at the beginning of the war? I assume you mean 1939. So was the Matilda 2. In 1941? No. The 88mm would rip through a T34.
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  6.  @RussianThunderrr  T34 too light to be a MBT. The Centurion was first being called the universal tank. it was _highly msnouverabke, able to climb mountains, to the surprise of Americans in Korea.
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  7. The difference between light, medium and heavy tanks was fuzzy. In WW2 they were making it up as they went along as the advances were so rapid.
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